The last time a Euro Cup knockout stage fixture was played, Fernando was the man of the moment and Spain finally erased their "choker" label in international tournaments, beating a German side led by young stars like Bastian Schweinstager and Lukas Podolski one-nil in what was a classic final in Vienna.
Then in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa the two sides collided once again, this time in the semi-final. With two more years of experience on both sides and new stars like Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira for Germany and David Villa for Spain the semi-final in South Africa was a rematch football/soccer fans eagerly anticipated. The Spaniards once again took a slim one-nil win over the Germans, who were missing eventual Golden Boot winner Thomas Mueller on yellow card accumulations in the semi-final.
After heartbreaking losses in 2008 and 2010, combined with the heartbreak of losing to eventual champions Italy in extra time of the 2006 World Cup on home soil, the Germans continued to give their young stars experience and ran through Euro Cup qualifying, conceding only seven goals in the qualification rounds and entered the tournament as usual as contenders.
Spain as most people already know, won the 2010 World Cup in extra time over the Dutch off of an Andres Iniesta goal that cemented Spain's place in World Cup history and spurred debate over whether or not this generation of Spanish football was the best assembly of players of all time.
Like Germany, Spain lived up to expectations during qualifying and entered the tournament with little fear of being eliminated, but did lose 2010 breakout star David Villa and the goalscorer in the 2010 World Cup semi-final Carles Puyol due to injury.
Now with both teams winning their respective groups during round robin play, the Germans and Spaniards find themselves once again as favorites on opposite sides of the draw heading into Thursday's quarterfinals. Germany has the easier path, getting Greece in the opening round and the winner of Portugal-Czech Republic in the semi-final stage.
Spain, however has the task of beating world power France in the quarterfinal and the winner of fellow international staples Italy/England in the semi's. But Spain are the defending champions and should be expected to once again get the job done, leaving a loss as an upset to the soccer world if anything less than a finals appearance is achieved.
So with two rounds of anything can happen football left, the potential of seeing the Spanish midfield of Xavi, David Silva, Iniesta, and Cesc Fabregas take on the solid German core of Schweinstager, Ozil, Podolski and striker Mario Gomez is one neutral fans are eagerly anticipating.
The Germans have matured and grown since their heartbreaks in 06, 08, and 2010 and the new faces of Holger Badstuber, Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels make their defensive core much stronger than in past tournaments. Their nine points in the group stage have placed the target fully on their backs and are fully expected to make another run at glory. If anyone is to stop the beginning of a new dynasty in international football, it will be the squad that is currently known as the best.
There is no guaranteeing that Germany-Spain III will be bestowed onto the international stage as upsets are abundant in the knockout stages, but one thing is for sure: by July 1 yet another compelling chapter will be added to the lore of the European Championship.
